Nov. 3, 2017
By Dan Colleran
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Playing its first ever Big Ten conference game, the Fighting Irish built a 2-0 lead five minutes into the third period and went on to post a 4-1 win over #16 Ohio State on Friday night at the Value City Arena (6,749).
Sophomore goaltender Cale Morris stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the win for Notre Dame (5-3-1, 1-0-0-0 B1G).
The Irish snapped Ohio State’s (5-2-2, 1-1-0-0) six-game unbeaten streak.
In the first period, Notre Dame killed off a five minute Ohio State power play, limiting the Buckeyes to just one shot on goal in what proved to be a key to the eventual win.
Cal Burke scored early in the second period to give the Irish the lead. Then after Morris kept it a one-goal game by denying OSU’s Kevin Miller on a two-on-one chance early in the third, Dylan Malmquist scored his first of the year just over five minutes into the final period for a 2-0 lead.
After Ohio State got on the board, Cam Morrison restored the two-goal lead by putting a rebound in at 13:40 of the third. Colin Theisen added the empty net goal for the final 4-1 scoreline.
In the Ohio State net, Sean Romeo finished with 14 saves.
COACH JACKSON’S THOUGHTS
On dropping down to six defensemen after starting with seven and how the defensemen played…
“I thought they played well and they got in the flow … we try to encourage our defensmen to get in on the rush. I think part of the problem is when sometimes our forwards don’t protect the puck in critical areas but tonight we were much better in that area. When our defensemen were jumping in the rush, the forwards weren’t turning it over.”
On playing the Big Ten opener …
“It was fun. They are good hockey team. For us to come in and win is a big step for our confidence because we have been a little inconsistent for the first month so it helps to come away with a good feeling about how we played against a good opponent.”
NOTRE DAME GOAL DESCRIPTIONS
1-0| The Fighting Irish took at 1-0 lead at 2:03 of the second period when Cal Burke gathered a puck off the end boards and forced it by Buckeye goaltender Sean Romero at the near post. Jordan Gross fired the pass off the boards to earn the primary assist, while Matt Hellickson also assisted on the play.
2-0| Jack Jenkins connected a pass o Cal Burke in the corner below the goal line to Romero’s left. Burke then fired a pass to the top of the crease, where Dylan Malmquist one-timed it to the back of the net for his first goal of the season at 5:35 of the third period.
3-1 | At 13:40 of the third, Cam Morrison corralled a rebound in front following an Andrew Peeke shot on goal and put it high past Romeo for his third goal of the year. Colin Theisen also assisted on the play.
4-1 | Colin Theisen intercepted a pass at the defensive blue line and beat Ohio State down the ice for an empty net goal at 19:25 of the third.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Irish were 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Buckeyes were 0-for-1 on their five minute power play.
NOTES
- Jordan Gross skated in the 128th consecutive game of his Irish career (dating back to the first game of his freshman season).
- With an assist on Cal Burke‘s goal, Gross extended his point streak to four games (2-4-6).
- Burke scored his third goal of the season, matching his total from last year/his freshman season, when he scored his third goal in his 31st game of the season.
- Burke added an assist and extended his point streak to to three games (2-3-5) while recording his third career multi-point game.
- Freshman forward Pierce Crawford, who missed the first eight games of the season with an injury, made his Notre Dame debut.
- With a goal and an assist, Colin Theisen extended his point streak to five games (3-4-7).
UP NEXT
The Irish and Buckeyes close out their weekend series at 7:00 p.m. ET tomorrow night at the Value City Arena (Nov. 4).
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).